Canadian whistlers beware

Phlebas · Post by **Phlebas** » Tue Oct 02, 2001 9:53 pm

I have never used this board as a "vent" or a soapbox but I want to pass on some bad news to Canadian whistlers who are thinking about ordering from the Whistle Shop. Some time ago my order was incorrectly invoiced by this vendor, and I was forced to pay more duty and taxes than I should have when it came across the border. When I wrote Thom about it and sent copies of the relevant documents he said he'll look into it and I never heard from him again, despite my e-mails. While American buyers don't have to worry about this particular problem, I advise Canadian shoppers to use a vendor that will take responsibility for it's mistakes. This one cost me dearly.

BCRusty · Post by **BCRusty** » Tue Oct 02, 2001 10:29 pm

I'm not sure it's just the Whistle Shop.
I wound up paying double for my Dixon Low D from Englan, and a 130$ item from Elderly Instruments cost me over 200$. this seemed to have more to do with the Canada Customs mafia and the shippers.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Oct 02, 2001 10:30 pm

Hey Phlebas -

Sorry you had such a bad experience!

How many times did you try to contact Thom? It's possible your communication got lost in the shuffle of moving to a new business location a few weeks back. I hope you can get this resolved, I've found Thom to be quite understanding but of course I am not in your particular situation. Best of luck to you and I hope this error doesn't sour you on the Whistle Shop forever.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Oct 02, 2001 10:31 pm

How exactly does Canadian Customs work?

WhistlingGypsy · Post by **WhistlingGypsy** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 6:26 am

I had the same experience - whistles that should have cost no more than $50 ended up costing me more than $100. While I found Thom to be very informative and helpful prior to the sale, he did not respond to my email regarding this afterwards.

Cheers

Gerry

[ This Message was edited by: DaleWisely on 2001-10-03 14:12 ]

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 7:47 am

The debate is getting confused. Phlebas maintained that the extra costs s/he incurred were the result of the vendor's making a mistake on the invoice. I think that s/he ought to provide a few more details before the rest of us Canadians make decisions about whether or not to order whistles from Thom.

Putting a false value on the customs documents, as mentioned by Gerry, is another matter entirely. If a maker is happy to do this, that's their affair, but I don't think we are entitled to expect a business to falsify their dealings in this way. (Gerry, incidentally, I don't think you ought to have published the name of the person concerned. Internet message boards are not private places.)

jmssmh · Post by **jmssmh** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 8:10 am

I thought we were suppose to have free trade with Canada. Do USA buyers have similar problems when buying from a Canada maker/vendor?

Joe

McHaffie · Post by **McHaffie** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 8:19 am

I would also venture to investigate the customs issues... I have sent several packages to Canada (although it was via the US Post office... not sure if that makes any difference?) and haven't had any troubles so far.

I have had a few packages returned to me from customs not only in Canada, but other spots in the world. Other than that, I've had no problems with extra fees or anything.

I would try calling these vendors, and find out if they know anything about it, and maybe what shipping company? I don't think anyone would want to intentionally cause their customers to pay more than they should.

Remember that e-mail isn't always reliable, and it might be worth $5.00 or so to give the person a call. (Obviously this would be much more from an international callers standpoint, but you get the idea)

Anyway, my two cents.

JamieKerr · Post by **JamieKerr** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 8:29 am

Our Free Trade agreement doesn't really work both ways. We still pay duty on certain items, as well as GST, which is a 7% national tax on everything purchased out of country. My recent purchases from abroad, including a parcel from The Whistle Shop, all had truthful customs declarations attached detailing the contents and value of the merchandise, but I was not assesed taxes or duty. This could be due the items being duty-free, or not applicable for tax. Or maybe because of the back-log of parcel movement following September 11th, they are rushing things through. But back to the free trade issue. One of the things that irks me in the agreement, is that American citizens who spend their money in Canada can file papers and receive the taxes that were assesed and charged in Canada back by mail. When we Canadians spend our money in the U.S., not only do we have the terrible exchange rate to deal with, we still have to pay possible duty and Canadian GST, on top of the US taxes. Free Trade is not very free.

skendal · Post by **skendal** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 8:35 am

In Ontario we have to pay both two taxes on goods imported from the US. The provincial sales tax and the goods and services tax which I believe importers in any province have to pay. Other than that, I haven't paid duty on anything in a long time.

Steve

thomlarson · Post by **thomlarson** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 9:26 am

I don't feel that this post was quite appropriate for this forum, given that the email in question was received here well after we left for the day on Monday and the post was made the very next day.

The situation has now of course been taken care of (in the exact same manner as it would have been without the above post).

I rank my company's customer service as second to none. I'll let our reputation - in the U.S., as well as Canada and the rest of the world - speak for itself.

Thom Larson
The Whistle Shop

Mack.Hoover · Post by **Mack.Hoover** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 9:33 am

I too will come to Thom's defence, although he doesn't need one. He ships all over the world and has an almost impeccable record. I'm sure he is in the process of answering your situation at the moment (if not sooner). To have vented on the board seems premature and a bit unfair, considering Thom's not responsible for the trade laws of Canada or any other country. He reads and answers more email messages than most of us can imagine, and also accepts phone messages at his own expense. His website is easily accessed and answers most of this kind of question there. He's sure been good to me, and I'm sure many around the globe will aggree.
Mack

tuugaalik · Post by **tuugaalik** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 10:04 am

I have twice received items from The Whistle Shop, and both times the service was great and everything was fine. I am now awaiting my Hoover, ordered from them. (mail is understandably slow these days). Thom has some comments on his web site about the Hoovers and so I emailed him. He very patiently took the time to send a reply with useful information, and further suggested I check this forum. My dealings with them have all been positive but mistakes can happen. My strong impression is that this is a business run with integrity, and that given the opportunity, they will correct any errors.

JSW · Post by **JSW** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 10:21 am

I just wanted to add my two cents worth on Thom Larson and the Whistleshop.I have dealt with Thom four times since the middle of July and he has not only been very good,he has been perfect.I could not have asked for better service.In fact when I purchased my Hoover Traditional Bore I considered dealing directly with the manufacturer but decided to order from Thom based solely on the quality of service that he has previously provided.(Sorry Mack,maybe next time.)Thank You Thom,I look forward to doing business with you in the future.
John White

LeeMarsh · Post by **LeeMarsh** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 10:32 am

I have had several dealings with Thom and The Whistle Shop. My first whistle purchase, from him, was over a year ago. My last purchase was day before yesterday. I have found Thom to be consistently responsive and accomodating.

Thom isn't perfect; however, the only time he has made a mistake with my order he imediately took responsibility for his mistake. We were able to promptly resolve the problem. He not only took responsibility, he remained flexible in working out a solution. In this case we came up with a win-win solution to resolve his mistake to both of our benefits.

His customer service is the best I've ever encountered in a retailer.

BTW, to put this in perspective, I live 20 miles from Houst of Music Traditions with it substancial selection of whistles. I still do regular business with Thom.
'Nuff said for Thom, now back to ...

_________________

Enjoying Our Music, Lee Marsh 

[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-10-05 12:43 ]